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Fintech in Asia: From Micro-Lending to High Finance

A Conversation With Melissa Guzy

Fintech is changing and redesigning financial markets and our everyday monetary behaviour – and nowhere more so than in Asia, where the lack of financial infrastructure provides a fertile ground for new innovations. Over 50 percent of the global Fintech funding is attracted by the Asia-Pacific.

However, differences in financial inclusion are huge: The large stock exchange hubs in Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong need more sophisticated technical solutions than the unbanked rural populations from India to Indonesia.

How does the financial industry cope with this discrepancy? What are the future trends in the Asian Fintech sector? And what role do women play in the male-dominated financial industry? Melissa Guzy, Managing Partner of Hong Kong-based Arbor Ventures, will share her knowledge capital about the Asian Fintech scene.

Melissa Guzy, who is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Arbor Ventures, has more than 25 years of experience as an entrepreneur and as a venture investor. With Arbor Ventures, she focuses on investing in FinTech, Big Data and Digital Commerce. Arbor has offices in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo, and Tel Aviv.

Prior to the founding of Arbor, Melissa was the Managing Director, member of the Investment Committee and head of VantagePoint Capital Partners Asia. During her tenure at VantagePoint, she invested in early stage technology companies in both Asia and the Silicon Valley. Her current Board positions include Demyst.data, Paidy, and TravelersBox.

Melissa is a guest lecturer on venture capital at the University of Florida, HKUST, Chinese University of Hong Kong and Hong Kong University. She has further published an academic paper titled Venture Capital Returns and Public Market Performance. Melissa serves on the HKVCA Venture Committee and participated in the Women’s Leadership Program at Harvard University.

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